The present invention relates to floor treating machines which utilize a rotating brush or like element wherein the rotating element rotates about a generally vertical axis. Normally, the brushes provided are removable from a drive member which in turn is connected to a drive motor.
A snap type of connection is disclosed in the patent to Ziegler No. 3,401,416 which issued on Nov. 15, 1966. A more common means for removably securing a brush to the drive member involves providing the drive member with a cog or teeth which pass through a notch in a drive plate which is mounted to the brush. One then rotates the brush so that the cog locks into position behind flanges on the drive plate. Examples of such arrangements are disclosed in Wilke U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,190 which issued Dec. 5, 1961, Jagiel U.S. Pat. No. 3,512,204 which issued May 19, 1970, Jerabek U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,735 which issued Aug. 24, 1971, Holt U.S. Pat No. 2,561,279 which issued July 17, 1951 and Collier U.S. Pat. No. 3,428,984 which issued Feb. 25, 1969.
One problem with such arrangement is that as the operator drives the machine or moves the machine over deviations in the floor, the pressure between the rotating brush and the floor becomes uneven. A proper cleaning job is not accomplished. Such uneveness can also result if the weight of the machine is shifted somehow, for example when the machine is turned around corners or perhaps even as solution from a solution tank on one side of the machine is used up and becomes collected in a recovery tank on the other side of the machine.